With all those reflections it looks painted to me. Still no guarantee the final version will be.

I'm good with bare plastic, though. I have enough paint chips on all of my painted MPs already.

If this was painted it'd be another kick in the shins for those who always wanted Shockwave in this colour and 'settled' for MP-29, but then it would justify the increased price a little better.


Like many others, I've grown to love 29's colour, and he'll always be my first ever Shockwave toy, but this new colour looks perfect.

 

Shockwave would be a chipping nightmare if he was fully painted due to the legs and waist transformation. You can pretty much say goodbye to any paint on the little locking-in point on his abdomen. Also I'm pretty sure this is a painted prototype anyway.

 

That's how the regular MP29 looked. To me that made it a let down among other things. When I got it in hand my feelings were confirmed.

 

Maybe this is a controversial opinion, but I don't know if I'd be too cut up if more MPs weren't fully painted. It's nice to have but also it'd be nice to not have to worry about it all the time. My Ironhide gradually turned himself into an unpainted Ironhide anyway because I loved transforming him so much.

 

I somewhat disagree, but that doesn't mean I think your opinion is controversial or too out-there. I get it. And if I actually transformed my MPs a lot too, I'd probably feel the same as you.

But I don't. Megatron was once to gun and once back to bot, and will probably never happen again. But that's how the paint has stayed pretty much fully intact on my Megs. And the same is true of any other painted areas on basically any of my MPs. Same for chrome as well. Even the chrome on my 28 Hot Rod has held up, but, again, I've only put him through about 3 or so transformations. My MPs simply stay in bot mode 99% of the time, and I don't get into the more elaborate posing either, so I'm kinda all for paint.

And, as Sam pointed out, in this particular case with Shockwave, being mostly painted would help justify the price a fair bit.

But I think he will have some problem areas if he is painted, much like Megatron, so those who transform their MPs a lot will likely need to be extra careful with their Shockwave+.

 

I’ve yet to transform my mp36 because of all the paint chipping problems. I’ve got mp36+ on preorder which will be my alt mode for the figure. That said I transform shockwave often without any fear. It’s a double edged sword. Paint or no paint. That is the question.

 

In advance, if this has been addressed my apologies as I have not really kept track of the thread for a while.
Will the final product have a purple hose?

 

Yes, that's an other way you can use the gun stand...    

 

Yes, purple hose. This is a cartoon-accurate repaint, so it'll have a purple hose like in the toon (not a black, toy-accurate hose).

I know right! Very creative  

 

If you remove Megatron's face and chest plate he should come out A OK. I actually leave his chest plate on and haven't had any nicks there yet, though I did leave his face on once and ended up dinging his chin. Highly recommend doing it, though, as it really makes you appreciate the genius that went into his design. Maybe have a stiff shot of liquid courage first... but not too much!  

As far as paint vs no paint, I think I'm firmly in the paint camp now, scratches, dings, and nicks be damned. It just looks much more premium and high end, like the figures are in hi def, and if there are imperfections I can usually only see them when I take them off the shelf and examine them in hand. That paint really makes them pop on the shelf, though. Maybe I've been lucky as my Ratchet, Grapple, and Megatron don't have the chipping and flaking I've seen some fans report.

 

Ugh I know I need to see mp36 transformation. I’m most worried about the barrel chipping with the extension which I’d need to see on. I still can’t even get the barrel to come down on his side ala g1 toy. It’s stiff and I don’t want to snap it! When I get back home I’ll have a drink and try to do it. I’m scared!! Lol

 

I can't remember which part of transforming Megatron can also leave some marks on his shoulders, I think someone like @Liampope or @Jarrod might know best.

You never had MP-1, right bro? Even he had some 'intentional' nicks and dings moulded into his body, to show that Prime was an old bot who'd seen a lot. Was pretty cool.
The kind of paint wear I'm getting on my MPs doesn't get me down, nor does it when it happens to my guitars - it's all part of the story.

The trick for getting the barrel to swoop under his arm (and credit to @Liampope for explaining it to me), is to rotate the first joint of the barrel 180 degrees, before you even let the other joint get into action. Also beforehand make sure you rotate the barrel counter-clockwise. Once you've got the barrel point downwards, just from using that first joint, then you can use the second joint to bring it to his side.

 

Man part of me is wishing on this weekend getaway for my anniversary and home with my Megatron. Don’t judge me. Also, this is a bit sarcastic and a bit serious. I have a problem with obsessing over my MPs.

 

You're in a safe place, bro. I UNDERSTAND  

 

So even the TT MP-1 had nicks and dings? Very cool - I'd no idea! I knew the Hasbro had battle damage but I thought it was just the paint deco. Good analogy with guitars, man. I've picked up second copies of a handful because of wear and tear on the original copies but I can't bring myself to part with them!

And @RichP , definitely give that barrel-on-the-side another go. It's one of my favorite configurations for the figure! As far as transforming him and putting the silencer on, seems like a crapshoot. Mine doesn't scuff, but I'm careful and follow the instructions but apparently so are others and it still happens. The gun is huge and impressive with the attachments, though!

 

Wait, wait just a minute! Dean, you never had a MP1 of any kind?!?  

I have the original Hasbro MP-1, and I actually don't care for the "battle damage" detailing. I guess I've always thought one of the main differences (besides the size of the smokestacks) was the TT version being free of the battle damage look. If it isn't, then I'm even less annoyed about having the Hasbro version rather than the TT all these years. Geez, it's been almost 15 years since I preordered that thing on Amazon! Time passes by...

Anyways, it would be nice if Shockwave+ were to be packaged in bot mode, but I suppose it'll be boxed the exact same way as the original MP-29. Just means having to do another transformation to alt mode if/when I ever want/need to box him back up for whatever reason. So glad Megatron came in bot mode to limit how many times I'd ever need to transform him, considering trying to cut down on the wear on his paint.

 

On mine his left shoulder got a nasty obvious paint chip from a pin being too long on the black part on his butt that holds his black butt parts in place. I took a dremel tool and shaved down the pin to avoid future damage but it’s too late. I saw several MP-36s online with the same exact chip so I believe it’s a fairly common issue. I have the reissue of MP-36 and the pin seems to be a bit better on that copy but I still plan to dremel it before I transform it.

On topic: I love painted MPs but the paint wear does concern me. I’m very careful with Sunstreakers hands etc. I’m hoping MP-29+ is painted but also nervous.  

 

never got why they made that part clear on the backpack/stand as when its on shockwave you can see the gun nozzle through it , they should have made that purple so the whole backpack is a solid colour and hides the gun nozzle

 

To give the illusion that it's floating, I guess (something they've royally cocked up here!)

 

Yeah, I almost feel guilty about not owning MP-1 - ALMOST! I've thought about it a lot, but he just doesn't fit in with my collection. Someone was kind enough to gift me a giant 3A G1 Optimus and as cool as he is, I rarely mess with him or even look at him and I think MP-1 would end up the same. Really only interested in the current MP collection that scales together and, especially now, is now shooting for character model accuracy. That OPV3 tho... ((DROOL))

As far as Shockwave goes, man, he's a blast to transform! Quick and easy and no fears of breakage or chipping. Plus it makes me feel like a kid again holding that light up space gun in my hand!